No Gender Pay Gap?

Recruiter A gets hired in 2006. Recruiter A has seven years of experience and a bachelors in history. Recruiter A is offered a salary of $53,000

Recruiter B is offered $50,000 in 2016 with ten years of experience and a bachelors in human resource management and two hr certifications.

Recruiter A is a male, Recruiter B is a female. There is a ten-year gap in the offers and the amount has decreased. There are more variables that impact the salaries offered to Recruiter A and Recruiter B, but the glaring difference is gender. Recruiter B brought more HR knowledge and expertise to the existing group than Recruiter A had, allowing Recruiter B to fill other voids when necessary. Both recruiters had their start in “temp staffing” before joining the same company. The same department manager was in place and made the offers to Recruiter A and Recruiter B. At the time of hire neither recruiter is asked to show past results. That department manager making the offers is a female if anyone is curious.

If you haven’t experienced gender pay gap than great, but just because you haven’t seen it does not mean it doesn’t exist. A quick google will give you a variety of resources to investigate the gender pay gap for yourself. There are a variety of reasons for why a gender pay gap exists. A glaring reason is lack of a compensation strategy (though some companies strategy is to hire women because they will work harder for less money, but that’s not the kind of strategy I want to encourage). I’ve seen plenty of hiring managers make an offer to a candidate based on what they made at their last position combined with what they are asking for. While I can argue that this makes sense there are impacts that must be considered when making this decision. Someone needs to ask questions like, but not limited to, the following:

“What is the goal of our compensation strategy and is this in line with it?”

I have some reservations over complete pay transparency, but I want to ask you as a manager if Recruiter B finds out all of this information, can you explain the answer? Is there a chunk of experience that is missing? References that aren’t as glowing as Recruiter A? Financial challenges that the company didn’t have 10 years ago? Whatever it is, are you ready to have a conversation about it (and possibly help Recruiter B grow)?

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Author: Kristina H. Minyard, SHRM-CP, PHR

My goal is to challenge the way we view, measure, and utilize HR and recruiting in a positive and encouraging way. I love working in HR and value the network of HR professionals that I also call friends. I'm always learning from my fellow HR pros and find comfort in their expertise. I'm an active member of my local SHRM chapter (NASHRM) and a total HR enthusiast! My HR related knowledge is a mix of recruiting, retaining, engaging and just plain helping people discover their passion.
I'm a follower of Christ, Wife, Mom, Corporate Recruiter, Blogger, problem solver, runner, Sports FANATIC & Razorback surviving amongst the [crimson] tide!
You can find me on twitter & Instagram: @HRecruit
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Thoughts here (and on all my social media channels) are mine and do not represent the thoughts/beliefs of my employer.
Why would I name my blog HR Pockets? Read about it in my first post years ago!!
View all posts by Kristina H. Minyard, SHRM-CP, PHR

Random thoughts on things that are half connected to the way I think about HR, L&D, Management, Leadership, business and the world.... and the world of business and the business of the world - David D'Souza (@dds180)